3-3 - SHORT ESSAY

I am the president and CEO of a major automobile manufacture, or at least for the sake of this post I am. We manufacture and market vehicles for the average, middle class person, most of our parts are outsourced and manufactured in foreign countries with our main assembly plant located in Canada. We have been in business for many years and are well established with hundreds of privately owned dealerships located throughout the world.
Ethical concerns are a very important part of our companies overall decision making process, it is with this high importance to ethics that we weigh every decision and concern evenly. We as a company prefer to use a Utilitarian model of ethics which is defined as - an ethical decision that produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people.(Essentials of Contemporary Management-Jones, George, Rock, Haddad)  It is difficult task to focus on and compare the benefits and concerns of all stakeholders, however when a decision has to be made regarding the direction of the company, someone is going to lose and we feel having the majorities interest in mind is the right ethical path for our company. A few years ago we were faced with a tough decision to make, we had to look at the cost effectiveness of keeping our main assembly plant in Canada. Union led wages were rising along with company contributions to benefits and pensions were eating away at profits, stockholders were looking for greater return on investment while customers still wanted a reasonably priced vehicle. We were concerned that moving our main plant to a foreign market might compromise the quality of our vehicles and that was a risk as a company that we felt was not a viable plan, we instead looked at a different option. At the time most of our parts were also manufactured in North America, by outsourcing the parts manufacturing to a more cost effective location and setting up quality control systems to monitor the manufacturing, we were able to retrain and relocate some of our employees while cutting cost and improving profits.

The four main codes of ethics our company follows are:

• To produce to a high standard of quality in our manufacturing and assembly plants.
• Continue to advance in environmental manufacturing processes.
• To promote and ensure a safe and healthy work environment.
• Make decisions based on the interest of the company as a whole, not for personnel gain.

Codes of ethics are standards or rules to help our employees and management teams make decisions based on our companies beliefs of right and wrong. Producing high quality vehicles for our customers, protecting the environment and the health of our employees, and making ethical business decisions are what is expected of all employees.
In addition to ethical standards our company will continue to have a proactive approach to social responsibility. We have set in place a program to cross train our workers allowing them to learn new skills, a lost opportunity in one place may open a new opportunity for both the worker and the company. We will continue to operate our Canadian assembly plant to protect Canadian jobs and ensure our high quality standards. Continuing advancements in manufacturing that will reduce pollution will be tested and put into place. Our company will continue to promote the fair treatment of all employees here in Canada and in our foreign markets.
I am going to switch back to being myself now and not the CEO of a major car company, I think many of my views are influenced by my generation and my characteristics. In the case of keeping the plant open in Canada, I have grown up in the generation constantly hearing of companies, one after another, closing in Canada and moving to foreign markets. As far as my characteristics go I have become frustrated with the ignorance that many people show towards the environment. The facts are there but they continue to ignore it, and I'm not talking about one person saving the planet,  just simply doing something, anything. I am also a strong believer in cross training your employees as it would allow companies to fill vacant positions if someone is away and also give the opportunity to promote from with in. Providing these types of opportunities engages your employees and gains retention, which in turn is also a benefit for the employer, this strategy is a must in today's work environment.